Posts filed under General (2811)

April 1, 2025

United Rugby Championship Predictions for Week 15

Team Ratings for Week 15

The basic method is described on my Department home page.
Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season.

Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference
Leinster 13.06 12.09 1.00
Glasgow 9.54 9.39 0.10
Bulls 8.88 8.83 0.10
Munster 5.32 9.28 -4.00
Stormers 4.77 6.75 -2.00
Edinburgh 2.13 0.09 2.00
Lions 1.40 6.73 -5.30
Sharks 1.11 -2.94 4.10
Cheetahs 0.80 0.80 0.00
Ulster -0.58 2.52 -3.10
Connacht -1.42 -0.76 -0.70
Ospreys -1.72 -2.51 0.80
Scarlets -3.25 -10.65 7.40
Benetton -3.99 1.02 -5.00
Cardiff Rugby -4.21 -2.55 -1.70
Southern Kings -6.52 -6.52 0.00
Zebre -9.74 -16.17 6.40
Dragons -15.60 -15.41 -0.20

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 112 matches played, 81 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 72.3%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Edinburgh vs. Dragons Mar 29 38 – 5 21.50 TRUE
2 Ulster vs. Stormers Mar 29 38 – 34 -0.90 FALSE
3 Connacht vs. Munster Mar 30 24 – 30 -3.70 TRUE
4 Bulls vs. Zebre Mar 30 63 – 24 21.60 TRUE
5 Scarlets vs. Ospreys Mar 30 38 – 22 -1.50 FALSE
6 Sharks vs. Leinster Mar 30 7 – 10 -7.40 TRUE
7 Benetton vs. Cardiff Rugby Mar 30 20 – 19 7.00 TRUE
8 Glasgow vs. Lions Mar 30 42 – 0 9.40 TRUE

 

Predictions for Week 15

Here are the predictions for Week 15. The prediction is my estimated expected points difference with a positive margin being a win to the home team, and a negative margin a win to the away team.

Game Date Winner Prediction
1 Edinburgh vs. Sharks Apr 19 Edinburgh 6.50
2 Lions vs. Benetton Apr 19 Lions 10.90
3 Ospreys vs. Cardiff Rugby Apr 20 Ospreys 5.00
4 Stormers vs. Connacht Apr 20 Stormers 11.70
5 Munster vs. Bulls Apr 20 Munster 1.90
6 Dragons vs. Scarlets Apr 20 Scarlets -9.80
7 Leinster vs. Ulster Apr 20 Leinster 16.10
8 Zebre vs. Glasgow Apr 20 Glasgow -13.80

 

Top 14 Predictions for Round 21

Team Ratings for Round 21

The basic method is described on my Department home page.
Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season.

Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference
Stade Toulousain 12.71 8.76 3.90
Toulon 6.83 5.32 1.50
Bordeaux Begles 5.89 3.96 1.90
Montpellier 1.35 -0.96 2.30
Clermont 0.68 0.41 0.30
Stade Rochelais 0.67 4.85 -4.20
Castres Olympique 0.66 -0.09 0.80
Lyon 0.46 -0.18 0.60
Bayonne 0.37 -1.69 2.10
Racing 92 0.12 2.75 -2.60
Section Paloise -0.58 1.38 -2.00
Stade Francais -1.50 1.86 -3.40
USA Perpignan -3.92 -0.66 -3.30
Vannes -8.03 -10.00 2.00

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 140 matches played, 105 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 75%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Bayonne vs. Lyon Mar 30 28 – 14 5.30 TRUE
2 Castres Olympique vs. Toulon Mar 30 28 – 26 -0.10 FALSE
3 Clermont vs. Stade Rochelais Mar 30 33 – 19 5.20 TRUE
4 Montpellier vs. Stade Francais Mar 30 38 – 32 9.00 TRUE
5 Stade Toulousain vs. Section Paloise Mar 30 55 – 10 16.30 TRUE
6 Vannes vs. USA Perpignan Mar 30 20 – 20 2.70 FALSE
7 Racing 92 vs. Bordeaux Begles Mar 31 36 – 31 0.30 TRUE

 

Predictions for Round 21

Here are the predictions for Round 21. The prediction is my estimated expected points difference with a positive margin being a win to the home team, and a negative margin a win to the away team.

Game Date Winner Prediction
1 Castres Olympique vs. Vannes Apr 20 Castres Olympique 14.30
2 Lyon vs. Montpellier Apr 20 Lyon 7.00
3 Section Paloise vs. Bordeaux Begles Apr 20 Section Paloise 0.50
4 Stade Francais vs. Stade Toulousain Apr 20 Stade Toulousain -7.10
5 Stade Rochelais vs. Bayonne Apr 20 Stade Rochelais 6.10
6 Toulon vs. Clermont Apr 20 Toulon 13.20
7 USA Perpignan vs. Racing 92 Apr 20 USA Perpignan 2.30

 

Super Rugby Predictions for Week 8

Team Ratings for Week 8

The basic method is described on my Department home page.
Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season.

Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference
Blues 12.15 14.92 -2.80
Chiefs 11.94 11.43 0.50
Hurricanes 9.26 10.97 -1.70
Crusaders 9.13 8.99 0.10
Brumbies 4.70 6.19 -1.50
Reds 1.67 1.35 0.30
Highlanders -1.80 -2.50 0.70
Western Force -5.40 -6.41 1.00
Waratahs -5.43 -5.17 -0.30
Fijian Drua -7.36 -7.98 0.60
Moana Pasifika -8.34 -11.25 2.90

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 34 matches played, 24 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 70.6%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Hurricanes vs. Waratahs Mar 28 57 – 12 16.70 TRUE
2 Brumbies vs. Highlanders Mar 28 34 – 27 11.10 TRUE
3 Crusaders vs. Moana Pasifika Mar 29 29 – 45 23.60 FALSE
4 Reds vs. Western Force Mar 29 28 – 24 11.30 TRUE

 

Predictions for Week 8

Here are the predictions for Week 8. The prediction is my estimated expected points difference with a positive margin being a win to the home team, and a negative margin a win to the away team.

Game Date Winner Prediction
1 Chiefs vs. Reds Apr 04 Chiefs 14.30
2 Moana Pasifika vs. Waratahs Apr 05 Moana Pasifika 1.10
3 Fijian Drua vs. Crusaders Apr 05 Crusaders -12.50
4 Blues vs. Hurricanes Apr 05 Blues 6.40
5 Western Force vs. Highlanders Apr 05 Western Force 0.40

 

Rugby Premiership Predictions for Round 14

Team Ratings for Round 14

The basic method is described on my Department home page.
Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season.

Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference
Bath 13.73 5.55 8.20
Sale Sharks 4.22 4.73 -0.50
Leicester Tigers 4.03 3.27 0.80
Gloucester 3.42 -9.04 12.50
Bristol 3.07 9.58 -6.50
Northampton Saints 2.23 7.50 -5.30
Harlequins 1.63 -2.73 4.40
Saracens 1.51 9.68 -8.20
Exeter Chiefs -4.48 1.23 -5.70
Newcastle Falcons -18.58 -19.02 0.40

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 65 matches played, 43 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 66.2%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Sale Sharks vs. Northampton Saints Mar 29 27 – 24 9.90 TRUE
2 Bath vs. Harlequins Mar 30 47 – 28 18.50 TRUE
3 Exeter Chiefs vs. Newcastle Falcons Mar 30 17 – 15 25.30 TRUE
4 Gloucester vs. Bristol Mar 30 53 – 28 2.30 TRUE
5 Leicester Tigers vs. Saracens Mar 31 22 – 29 13.00 FALSE

 

Predictions for Round 14

Here are the predictions for Round 14. The prediction is my estimated expected points difference with a positive margin being a win to the home team, and a negative margin a win to the away team.

Game Date Winner Prediction
1 Newcastle Falcons vs. Northampton Saints Apr 19 Northampton Saints -14.30
2 Exeter Chiefs vs. Bath Apr 20 Bath -11.70
3 Harlequins vs. Sale Sharks Apr 20 Harlequins 3.90
4 Saracens vs. Gloucester Apr 20 Saracens 4.60
5 Bristol vs. Leicester Tigers Apr 21 Bristol 5.50

 

NRL Predictions for Round 5

Team Ratings for Round 5

The basic method is described on my Department home page.
Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season.

Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference
Storm 9.51 9.29 0.20
Panthers 7.20 8.50 -1.30
Sharks 5.16 5.10 0.10
Roosters 4.38 7.44 -3.10
Sea Eagles 4.11 2.97 1.10
Bulldogs 2.04 0.07 2.00
Cowboys 1.63 4.11 -2.50
Broncos 0.23 -1.82 2.00
Knights -0.88 -0.05 -0.80
Warriors -1.24 -1.68 0.40
Raiders -3.19 -3.61 0.40
Rabbitohs -3.28 -4.35 1.10
Titans -3.63 -5.50 1.90
Dolphins -3.75 -1.96 -1.80
Dragons -4.34 -4.55 0.20
Eels -5.77 -3.02 -2.80
Wests Tigers -8.17 -10.97 2.80

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 32 matches played, 18 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 56.2%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Rabbitohs vs. Panthers Mar 27 28 – 18 -9.20 FALSE
2 Roosters vs. Titans Mar 28 12 – 30 13.50 FALSE
3 Dolphins vs. Broncos Mar 28 12 – 20 -3.40 TRUE
4 Dragons vs. Storm Mar 29 14 – 8 -12.50 FALSE
5 Cowboys vs. Raiders Mar 29 30 – 20 7.40 TRUE
6 Sharks vs. Bulldogs Mar 29 6 – 20 8.00 FALSE
7 Sea Eagles vs. Eels Mar 30 26 – 12 12.70 TRUE
8 Wests Tigers vs. Warriors Mar 30 24 – 26 -3.70 TRUE

 

Predictions for Round 5

Here are the predictions for Round 5. The prediction is my estimated expected points difference with a positive margin being a win to the home team, and a negative margin a win to the away team.

Game Date Winner Prediction
1 Raiders vs. Sharks Apr 03 Sharks -5.30
2 Panthers vs. Cowboys Apr 04 Panthers 8.60
3 Rabbitohs vs. Roosters Apr 04 Roosters -4.70
4 Eels vs. Dragons Apr 05 Eels 1.60
5 Titans vs. Dolphins Apr 05 Titans 3.10
6 Broncos vs. Wests Tigers Apr 05 Broncos 11.40
7 Sea Eagles vs. Storm Apr 06 Storm -2.40
8 Bulldogs vs. Knights Apr 06 Bulldogs 5.90

 

AFL Predictions for Week 5

Team Ratings for Week 5

The basic method is described on my Department home page.
Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season.

Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference
Hawthorn Hawks 24.22 21.95 2.30
Brisbane Lions 19.46 22.65 -3.20
Geelong Cats 17.06 15.04 2.00
Western Bulldogs 13.83 18.20 -4.40
Collingwood 12.95 5.39 7.60
GWS Giants 9.70 9.08 0.60
Adelaide Crows 8.68 2.69 6.00
Sydney Swans 8.31 12.60 -4.30
Port Adelaide Power 3.39 7.63 -4.20
Carlton Blues 2.73 5.01 -2.30
St Kilda Saints 2.41 0.89 1.50
Gold Coast Suns 2.15 -6.41 8.60
Fremantle Dockers 1.29 5.99 -4.70
Melbourne Demons -10.70 -0.21 -10.50
Essendon Bombers -11.08 -10.15 -0.90
North Melbourne -27.64 -37.08 9.40
Richmond Tigers -33.44 -31.00 -2.40
West Coast Eagles -35.71 -34.67 -1.00

 

Performance So Far

So far there have been 27 matches played, 17 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 63%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Essendon Bombers vs. Port Adelaide Power Mar 27 72 – 60 -6.30 FALSE
2 Carlton Blues vs. Western Bulldogs Mar 28 75 – 83 -12.10 TRUE
3 Brisbane Lions vs. Geelong Cats Mar 29 70 – 61 5.60 TRUE
4 Melbourne Demons vs. Gold Coast Suns Mar 29 62 – 120 6.40 FALSE
5 St Kilda Saints vs. Richmond Tigers Mar 29 135 – 53 28.80 TRUE
6 Hawthorn Hawks vs. GWS Giants Mar 29 76 – 64 28.10 TRUE
7 Adelaide Crows vs. North Melbourne Mar 30 114 – 78 49.50 TRUE
8 West Coast Eagles vs. Fremantle Dockers Mar 30 68 – 106 -36.70 TRUE

 

Predictions for Week 5

Here are the predictions for Week 5. The prediction is my estimated expected points difference with a positive margin being a win to the home team, and a negative margin a win to the away team.

Game Date Winner Prediction
1 Collingwood vs. Carlton Blues Apr 03 Collingwood 10.20
2 Geelong Cats vs. Melbourne Demons Apr 04 Geelong Cats 38.80
3 Gold Coast Suns vs. Adelaide Crows Apr 05 Gold Coast Suns 4.50
4 Richmond Tigers vs. Brisbane Lions Apr 05 Brisbane Lions -41.90
5 North Melbourne vs. Sydney Swans Apr 05 Sydney Swans -25.00
6 GWS Giants vs. West Coast Eagles Apr 06 GWS Giants 56.40
7 Port Adelaide Power vs. St Kilda Saints Apr 06 Port Adelaide Power 12.00
8 Fremantle Dockers vs. Western Bulldogs Apr 06 Western Bulldogs -1.50

 

March 31, 2025

Bogus polls are bogus even for the good guys

Nature magazine (yes, that one) has a headline 75% of US scientists who answered Nature poll consider leaving.

This is a more honest phrasing that one usually gets in bogus poll headlines, but it’s still bogus.  The ‘poll’ was

Responses were solicited earlier this month on the journal’s website, on social media and in the Nature Briefing e-mail newsletter. Roughly 1,650 people completed the survey.

The other problem with the poll is that ’emigrational ideation’, as one might call it, is a very low bar. Lots of people consider doing things. Many fewer actually do them. People having been claiming they are considering leaving the US for a long time, and we don’t know from the ‘poll’ how the current numbers compare to the usual state of affairs. Remember this cartoon, from 2006:

In fact, I think it’s quite likely that there are more scientists than before actively looking into leaving the US.  Anecdotally, we are getting more enquiries here and more US applicants to advertised positions.  You might think this sort of anecdata is a pretty weak basis for conclusions . You’d be right, but it’s still better than a bogus poll.

March 26, 2025

Ebikes for brains

Q: Did you see ebikes are good for your brain? If you’re old.

A: How old?

Q: Over 50

A: That’s not… Ahem. That’s a very inclusive definition of  ‘old’, isn’t it?

Q: Does it work?

A: Who knows? It might.

Q: Does this research show it works?

A: What would we want to check?

Q: Mice or people?

A: Good. People, not mice.

Q: Random allocation of people or just correlations?

A: Yes, that’s right.  This one is … somewhere in between.

Q: What’s in between randomly allocating people and just seeing what they choose? You flip a coin, but with your eyes closed?

A:  Well…

Participants were pseudo-randomly assigned to one of three groups: pedal cycling, e-bike or non-cycling control groups. Priority was given to filling the cycling spots then controls were recruited to match sample characteristics. The control group were recruited after the experimental groups had started to be run so that we could match age and gender in the control group with those participants in the experimental groups. The control group were aware that they would not be cycling during the trial and those in the experimental group were all re-engaging with cycling.

Q: So, comparing people who signed up to do cycling with people who signed up to avoid cycling and other exercise.

A: Yes, but in the context of cycling research, not just random people asked to not do any extra exercise.

Q: And did the cycling group have better brains?

A: They measured a whole lot of things. Eight different multi-question assessments. Some of those improved and some didn’t

Q: Is that what they expected?

A: Not really, no. They expected improvements in a lot of the things that didn’t go up

In line with our predictions, we found trends for improvement in executive function in the Stroop task and letter updating task in both cycling groups compared to baseline and the non-cycling controls. We also found improvement in speed of processing for go trials in the Stop-It signal task only for e-bike participants during the intervention. Measures of memory and spatial functioning did not show an effect of cycling. Furthermore, we found increases in self-reported mental health on the SF-36 health survey for only the e-bike cycling group. Despite strong evidence from previous studies for an increase in well-being after exercise and the impacts of the outdoor environment on this aspect of mental health, we did not find increases on the PWB, SL or PANAS questionnaires.

Q: Could it just be the study was too small to give reliable conclusions?

A: Well, if that’s the explanation, then the study is too small to support press releases and media attention.

Q: So e-bikes are bad?

A: E-bikes are a good form of low-carbon transport, especially in hilly cities with nice climates, and let you get some, but not too much, exercise.   I don’t think they need special effects on the brain to be popular.

Bogus Tesla Polls Are Bogus

Via the US website Electrek, which does news about electric vehicles and adjacent subjects, a story about bogus polls.

A bogus online clicky poll in Germany got 100,000 clicks and found that 94% of the time that a button was clicked, it corresponded to “absolutely not willing to buy a Tesla”.  Electrek calls this “100,000 Germans”, based on very little evidence.

The poll kept running.  By the time it had 470,000 clicks, only 29% of the clicks corresponded to “absolutely not willing to buy a Tesla”.  Quite a lot of these clicks — 253,000 — came from just two IP addresses in the US. A bit of maths shows that the clicks from the two US addresses made up about three-quarters of the pro-Tesla clicks.

The magazine, T-Online, was forced to the shocking conclusion that its meaningless customer-engagement exercise had been manipulated by someone else’s meaningless customer-engagement exercise.

March 25, 2025

AFL Predictions for Week 4

Team Ratings for Week 4

The basic method is described on my Department home page.
Here are the team ratings prior to this week’s games, along with the ratings at the start of the season.

Current Rating Rating at Season Start Difference
Hawthorn Hawks 25.49 21.95 3.50
Brisbane Lions 19.05 22.65 -3.60
Geelong Cats 17.47 15.04 2.40
Western Bulldogs 14.32 18.20 -3.90
Collingwood 12.95 5.39 7.60
Adelaide Crows 9.78 2.69 7.10
GWS Giants 8.43 9.08 -0.70
Sydney Swans 8.31 12.60 -4.30
Port Adelaide Power 4.81 7.63 -2.80
Carlton Blues 2.24 5.01 -2.80
Fremantle Dockers 1.13 5.99 -4.90
St Kilda Saints -1.11 0.89 -2.00
Gold Coast Suns -1.98 -6.41 4.40
Melbourne Demons -6.56 -0.21 -6.40
Essendon Bombers -12.50 -10.15 -2.40
North Melbourne -28.74 -37.08 8.30
Richmond Tigers -29.93 -31.00 1.10
West Coast Eagles -35.55 -34.67 -0.90

Performance So Far

So far there have been 19 matches played, 11 of which were correctly predicted, a success rate of 57.9%.
Here are the predictions for last week’s games.

Game Date Score Prediction Correct
1 Carlton Blues vs. Hawthorn Hawks Mar 20 60 – 80 -24.30 TRUE
2 Western Bulldogs vs. Collingwood Mar 21 70 – 76 3.70 FALSE
3 Essendon Bombers vs. Adelaide Crows Mar 22 100 – 161 -3.80 TRUE
4 Port Adelaide Power vs. Richmond Tigers Mar 22 140 – 68 41.30 TRUE
5 St Kilda Saints vs. Geelong Cats Mar 22 98 – 91 -10.30 FALSE
6 Brisbane Lions vs. West Coast Eagles Mar 23 94 – 75 72.70 TRUE
7 North Melbourne vs. Melbourne Demons Mar 23 125 – 66 -33.40 FALSE
8 Fremantle Dockers vs. Sydney Swans Mar 23 65 – 68 6.00 FALSE

Predictions for Week 4

Here are the predictions for Week 4. The prediction is my estimated expected points difference with a positive margin being a win to the home team, and a negative margin a win to the away team.

Game Date Winner Prediction
1 Essendon Bombers vs. Port Adelaide Power Mar 27 Port Adelaide Power -6.30
2 Carlton Blues vs. Western Bulldogs Mar 28 Western Bulldogs -12.10
3 Brisbane Lions vs. Geelong Cats Mar 29 Brisbane Lions 5.60
4 Melbourne Demons vs. Gold Coast Suns Mar 29 Melbourne Demons 6.40
5 St Kilda Saints vs. Richmond Tigers Mar 29 St Kilda Saints 28.80
6 Hawthorn Hawks vs. GWS Giants Mar 29 Hawthorn Hawks 28.10
7 Adelaide Crows vs. North Melbourne Mar 30 Adelaide Crows 49.50
8 West Coast Eagles vs. Fremantle Dockers Mar 30 Fremantle Dockers -36.70